Trust and Distrust
by fulcrum101
Summary: The Battlestar Galactica and her fleet meet the Excalibur class battleship, Graff Spee and her commander, Admiral Necheyav. How will the fleet react to the advanced 13 tribe? How will Nechayev react to this rag-tag fleet and its Cylon enemies?
1. Chapter 1

Trust and distrust

Summary: The Battlestar Galactica and her fleet meet the Excalibur class battleship and her commander, Admiral Necheyav.

Ch 1

"Anything interesting?" Adama asked.

"Nothing going on. No Cylons, no fleet protest, thank the gods." Tigh said.

"Good. I'm sending Lee over to the beast to see how Garner is holding up." Adama said.

"Let me guess. Starbuck." Tigh said.

"That's what rumor mill says. More than likely true." Adama said.

"Galactica, CIC." Dee said, picking up a head phone.

"Admiral, the Gemonese representative wants to speak to you." Dee said.

"What for." Adama said, picking up the phone.

"This is Admiral Adama." He said, speaking into the phone.

Adama listened to the delegate and put the phone away.

"Trouble?" Tigh asked.

"Depends on our next few steps." Adama said, heading to sickbay.

Entering the sickbay, he talked with doctor Cottle.

"I heard the young girl asked for you personally. Mind telling me what that's about?" Adama asked.

"Pretty straightforward. I get word that a girl is on the way, wants work done on her, I perform on her, and she leaves. No questions asked." Cottle said.

"You're gonna start asking." Adama said, as he opened the privacy curtain.

"I'm Admiral Adama."

"I'm not changing my mind." The girl said.

"Your parents contacted me thru the Gemonese representative. They're concerned about you." Adama said.

"My parents." The girl said, realizing the gravity of her situation. "Do you realize what they will do to me?"

"You're a stowaway, aboard a military ship. I can't allow that." Adama said, when Cottle butted in.

"Fleeing from religious persecution. Hell, some would say she could apply for asylum." Cottle said.

 _You dumbass. I could put her on a different ship in the fleet._ Adama thought as he glared at Cottle.

"Asylum. That's what I want. Asylum." She said.

Adama walked out of sickbay to talk to President Roslin.

"This gets better and better." He muttered.

 **Utopia shipyards, Mars orbit**

Admiral Alynna Nechayev looked over the information about the brand-new Excalibur class starship, _Graff Spee_. It was a true successor to the Galaxy glass starship, now being phased out of service. It shared the same shape and design features as a Sovereign class, yet had more firepower than a Sovereign class battleship, able to take own two Jem'Hadar battleships and win. It had the most advanced technology and systems the Federation offered, and was built for exploration like its predecessor. It could also take immense punishment, and give plenty in return, thanks to its honey-combed hull.

"Hell of a ship. Warp 9.9, cruising warp at 9. Time for its shakedown." Alynna said, walking onto the bridge.

"Admiral on deck." The XO said.

"At ease. Helm, take us out. Full impulse." Nechayev said, sitting in the captain's chair.

Leaving the shipyards, they entered warp for the Graff Spee's maiden voyage.

"Admiral, we're getting power fluctuations from engineering."

"Engineering, what's going on?" Alynna asked.

The Graff Spee, then began to veer off its original course, and it was increasing its warp speed.

"Warp 9. 9.1, 9.3." LuFan said.

"Cut the engines off, now." Alynna said.

"We can't!"

"All hands, brace yourself!" Alynna shouted thru the comm system.

The engineering crew quickly shut down the warp engine, by ripping out vital components and hoping the core would drop dead.

The Graff Spee roughly dropped out of warp, and the ship was dead in space.

"Report!" Alynna said.

"All systems are dead. Emergency backups are coming online." Commander Price said.

The bridge light up again, and crewman resumed their posts.

"Where are we?" Nechayev asked.

"Admiral, I don't know." LuFan said.

"What do you mean?" Nechayev asked.

"We're in a section of space that is completely uncharted. Nothing is in our databanks." LuFan said.

"Go to yellow alert. Price, start breaking out the arms lockers. I want to be prepared if something attacks us." Nechayev said.

In engineering, Lt. Godfrey is running diagnostics on the warp engine, wondering how it all went wrong. She soon found that that the dilithium matrix wasn't calibrated before it left space dock. Thanks to that, they were stranded in the middle of nowhere, with a damaged warp drive.

"So that's what caused it?" Alynna asked.  
"Yes. Some asshole failed to calibrate the matrix, and we're paying for the results." Godfrey said.

"Chyort. How long will repairs take?" Alynna asked.

"A week, and that's conservative. I won't know how much damage the core has taken for a few days." LuFan said.

"Get it started." Alynna said.

Nechayev was in ten-forward, and looked at the stars greeting the Graff Spee.

"Our first maiden voyage, and it's a fubar. God, this will go well on my report." She said, drinking a cup of coffee.

"Admiral, we're receiving a distress signal." Price said.

"On my way." Nechayev said.

A million thoughts raced thru the admiral's mind as she headed to the bridge. Who was out here, and who was sending the message?


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

"When did this happen?" Starbuck asked.

"Lt. Thrace. Perhaps if you were doing your job like any training officer worth a damn would have done, you'd have known that two of our raptors are gone." Commander Garner curtly said.

Thrace left the CIC in a huff to confront the Pegasus pilots.

"Mr. Hoshi. Can you decipher the distress signal?" Commander Garner asked.

"I'm lucky to get anything at all, sir." Hoshi said.

"I'll take anything at this point. It might lead us to our people. Can you trace the location of the distress signal?"

"The signal is very weak. Doubt I'll be able to get anything out of it." Hoshi said.

"Just get it. Lets start on this lead." Garner said.

Meanwhile, the Graff Spee had intercepted the message and the crew fully decoded it.

"Boatshow to Pegasus. We've received distress call. The wreck has a bearing of 1 jump away."

The ships computer played the recording again.

"The location of it?" Nechayev asked.

"We have it. But without warp drive, it'll take 5 hours to arrive at full impulse." LuFan said.

"Set in a course. Full impulse." Nechayev said.

 _Admiral's log_

 _We're tracking down the location of a mysterious distress signal. Considering we're in an unknown part of space, the ship is at red alert, and the crew are armed at all times. Myself, I'm carrying one of the type-4 phaser sniper rifles and a phase pistol with me._

"Admiral, we got the break we've been looking for. I can jump in and get them back inside a few minutes." Garner said.

"Believe me, Commander. I understand your situation, but Cylons have been known to use fake distress calls to lure our ships into ambushes." Adama said.

"A scenario I highly disagree with." Garner said.

"We'll send in a recon force. 2 recon, 3 escort." Adama said.

Garner put the phone away and made up his mind. 30 minutes later, Lee Adama heard the call to action stations.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Condition 1, major. We're jumping the ship." A pilot said.

"Get a viper." Lee said to Starbuck.

"What?" Starbuck asked, confused.

"You're the best pilot we got. So get to the hanger deck and get a viper." Lee said.

"About time you admitted that." Kara said.

"Commander, what's going on?" Lee asked.

"I'm bringing my pilots home, Major." Garner said.

"The admiral said we should wait for recon…" Lee started.

"My pilots are dying down there, major. I can't wait for recon." Garner said.

Both Lee and Garner had a quick argument about what to do, and it ended when Lee said "I'm taking command of this ship, and placing you under arrest!"

The CIC crew looked at the two, wondering what would happen.

"Sgt of the guard, the commander's been properly relieved." Lee said.

"Sgt, this man is not a member of this crew, and you will escort Major Adama to his quarters." Garner said.

The marine brought out his pistol and said "Major, if you will come with me."

Lee sighed in exasperation and walked with the marine.

"Get ready for combat jump." Garner said.

On the Galactica, Geata watched as the Pegasus jumped away.

"They're gone, sir."

Adama only look at the dradis display and wondered when the Pegasus would return.

"They're ours, sir." Hoshi said, as the recognition codes came through.

"Good. Send out the SAR bird and bring our people home." Garner said.

The two raptors left the Pegasus to look at the two missing and shot up birds.

"Pegasus, this is devil dog. Both raptor crews are dead. Repeat, they're dead."

"Dradis contact!" Hoshi shouted, as 3 Cylon baseships appeared into view.

"Oh my gods." Garner said, realizing he walked right into a trap.

"Nuclear missiles inbound!"

3 nukes slammed into the top of the Pegasus, taking out her jump drive.

"Report!" Garner shouted, as the Pegasus fired every weapon they had at the Cylon fleet.

"FTL is offline, sir!"

"We're stuck here, sir!"

Garner picked up the CIC phone and started to argue with the mechanics in the engineering section.

"Than the spinner's fine. Just pull it. Pull it." Garner said.

The bulkheads shook as the Pegasus took another missile.

"How long will it take to get the FTL online?" Lee asked.

"I don't know. They don't understand. I'm going down there. You have the con." Garner said, and quickly left the CIC to the engines.

"I have the con." Lee said, and thought about what his father would do.

"Helm, head left and target the nearest baseship. Lets see if we can't cut down the odds."

…

"Admiral, we're picking up intense weapons fire and frantic chatter." Price said.

"Where is it?" Nechayev asked.

"Where the distress signal came from." Price said.

"ETA?"

"10 minutes. We have them within visual range."

"Onscreen."

The screen turned on, and they saw an intense battle raging. 3 large star-shaped vessels were firing missiles at another warship. Said warship had a rectangular layout, with an alligator head, a long middle section, and protruding engines. On each side of the ship, were two large flight pods, armed with AA guns and launching small one manned fighters.

"Target the star-shaped warships and fire." Nechayev said.

"We don't know if they're friendly or not." Price said.

"If not, we destroy all of them. For now, target the star-shaped vessels." Nechayev said.

Graff Spee fired her phasers and destroyed one of the base-ships out right.

"Frak me!" Starbuck said, as she saw the Starfleet vessel go right thru a swarm of Cylon raiders. The ship's shields glowed bright yellow as the Cylons began to fire at the new intruder.

"What the hell?" Lee asked, as he saw it on the Dradis display.

"Pegasus, this is Starbuck. Looks like our new guest is keeping the toasters busy." Kara said.

"Mop up the stragglers, but keep your distance. Helm, get us away from the fight." Lee said, as the ship shook from missile impacts, now decreasing from before.

"Radiation!" Price shouted.

"What?" Nechayev asked.

"Must be a nuke." Price said.

The nuclear warhead detonated and the resulting explosion plus brightly lit shields temporarily blinded the viper pilots.

"My gods." Starbuck said, as she blinked away the blinding effects.

"Look at that, Starbuck." Narcho said.

"Thank the gods." She said, as the Graff Spee easily shrugged off the thermonuclear warhead.

"That was annoying." Nechayev said, as they turned to face a Cylon baseship. The Cylon ship continued to fire her missiles at the Federation ship, with no effect.

"Torpedoes. Lets see what happens." She said.

A single quantum torpedo was shot from the forward torpedo tube and speed towards the Cylon baseship, easily punching thru the thin armor. The torpedo detonated inside the ship, and the resulting explosion ripped the baseship from inside out.

"Sir, the unknown contact is tearing the Cylon's to pieces." Hoshi said.

"About time something good happens." Lee says, looking at Garner's torn watch.

"One enemy ship is left." Price said.

"Destroy it, and hail that warship." Nechayev said.

A pair of strong phaser blasts destroyed the baseship, and the raiders scattered to hell, jumping away from the combat zone.

"Sir, we're being hailed." Hoshi said.

"On speakers." Lee said.

"This is Admiral Alynna Nechayev, of the Starfleet ship, Graff Spee. Respond."

"Graff Spee? Starfleet?" a colonial officer asks.

"No idea." Lee said.

"This is Major Lee Adama of the Battlestar Pegasus, over." Lee said.

"Major Adama, I need to meet with you at once." Nechayev said.

"We can meet with the admiral once we get back to the fleet." Lee said, unsure to trust their saviors.

"Good enough. Send us the coordinates of your fleet." Nechayev said.

"They're coming now." Lee said.

"We got the coordinates. You guys go first, roll out the red carpet." Nechayev said.

"Sir?" the helmsmen asked.

"We jump back to Galactica. Besides, we're in no condition for a fight should the Cylons show up." Lee said.

"Spinning up FTL drive in 3, 2, 1."

The Pegasus disappeared in a bright light.

"What was that?" Nechayev asked, never seeing that kind of FTL before.

"Some sort of space folding tech. From what the instruments are telling me, it's short ranged." Vic said.

"We'll have to analyses it later. This fleet can tell us where we are." Nechayev said.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

"Pegasus actual, this is Galactica." Adama said.

"Galactica actual, our missing pilots are dead, and Garner is dead as well." Lee said.

"Cylons?" Adama asked.

"Yes. And… we encountered another ship. It saved our asses, and destroyed three baseships by itself. Faster than anything we can do." Lee said.

"Well, where is this super-ship?" Tigh musingly asked.

"Dradis contact!" Geata said, as the Graff Spee suddenly appeared out of warp 1. The Graff Spee easily dwarfed the Pegasus and Galactica, hovering above the fleet.

"This is Admiral Nechayev of the Graff Spee to the unknown fleet. I need to speak to the admiral."

"Graff Spee, this is Admiral Adama."

"Related to the Adama on the Pegasus?" Nechayev asked.

"He's my son. Thanks for bringing him back." Adama said.

"I need to meet with you, Admiral." Nechayev said.

"One step at a time. I'll let you know when we can meet. Got some things I need to take care of." Adama said.

"Take your time." Nechayev said, shrugging her shoulders.

Adama quickly phoned Colonial one.

"Admiral, I'm seeing a large ship hovering above the fleet." Roslin said.

"The commander of that ships is admiral Nechayev. Don't know that person. Word's going to spread real quickly, so we need to schedule a meeting with their admiral to get things straight. My son said Nechayev rescued them from a Cylon ambush." Adama said.

"Okay. Colonial one." Roslin said.

…

"Back up. You and the Pegasus were dealing with 3 baseships, when the Graff Spee appeared. Correct?" Roslin asked.

"Correct. The Cylons shifted their attention to attacking that ship. They didn't stand a chance. They fired a nuke, didn't even scratch the paint. It has shielding technology that's only seen in bad sci-fi shows. That ship fired some sort of plasma or laser beam weaponry that cut the Cylon's to shreds." Kara said.

Roslin looked at Kara with a bit of skepticism.

"Only way we can confirm the story is if we talk to the commander itself. I want to put a lid on a situation before it goes to hell." Adama said.

"I'll have to bring the quorum here to hear about it. They'll know sooner or later. Might as well have it sooner." Roslin said.

"After we talk with their admiral." Adama said.

On the Graff Spee, Nechayev was looking over the damage reports when the comm went active.

"Admiral, here."

"Admiral, they've agreed to meet with you. Here are the coordinates. On a ship they call Colonial one."

"I'll beam over as soon as they're ready." Nechayev said.

"They're ready right now."

On Colonial one, they were waiting for Nechayev to appear, and appear she did via transporter tech.

"What the frak!?" Roslin shouted, as they saw the transporter for the first time.

Nechayev looked at their bewildered faces.

"Federation ships are equipped with a transporter. You can transport anything, from a single piece of paper to awarhead, to any point you wish. No side effects." Nechayev said.

"Is that a normal way to travel from ship to ship?" Adama asked.

"Yes. It's something we'd do every day, like breathing." Nechayev said.

"I guess introductions are in order. I'm Admiral Adama. Last high ranking officer in the colonial fleet. This is my son, Major Adama. Captain Kara Thrace, Starbuck. She's the best fighter pilot in the fleet." Adama said, with a smile.

"Laura Roslin, President of the 12 colonies." Laura said.

"It's great to meet you." Neyachev said, as they sat down.

"Admiral, how did you come across such a powerful ship? You guys fired plasma and laser weaponry. You fired one missile that destroyed an entire baseship. Was it a nuke?" Kara asked, having seen the Graff Spee in action up close.

"First things first, I'm the top Admiral in Starfleet. It's an armada for exploration and defense, the Federation's military arm, per say." Nechayev said.

"And this Federation?" Roslin asked.

"A large organization. Hundreds of planets have come together under one banner. And Earth is its HQ." Nechayev said.

The colonials simply looked in shock, not believing what they heard.

"Your home world, is earth?" Adama asked.

"Yes. Why do you look so stunned?" Nechayev asked.

"We're searching for earth." Lee said.

"Why is earth so important?" Nechayev

"It's the home of the 13 tribe." Roslin said.

"The what?" Nechayev asked.

"Our scriptures say that 4,000 years ago, humanity sprang from the planet called Kobol. 13 tribes of humans left Kobol. 12 settled on what became the 12 colonies. The 13 tribe headed to earth. I always thought It was a myth, but recent events have changed my mind. You and your ship is the final nail in the coffin." Bill said.

"That's a hell of a story, but we have archeological evidence on earth that goes past 10,000 years. But the universe is a big place. So I can see this stuff happening, humans evolving on different planets." Nechayev said.

"Admiral, there's a reason we're searching for earth. 53 years ago, we created the Cylons. Machines to make life on the 12 colonies easier. They rebelled and a long war lasted. An armistice was created, and for the next 40 years no-one has seen or heard from the Cylons. Then, they launched a surprise attack. Wiped out our fleet, killed billions of our people. There's only 50,000 of us left." Lee said.

"And you're heading to earth, hoping to find some save haven from the Cylons." Nechayev said.

"Correct." Adama said.

Nechayev pinched the bridge of her nose, and had to give bad news.

"I got bad news. The Federation and her allies have just finished fighting our own war against a hegemon empire called the Dominion. We beat them back and sent them packing. But our fleet has taken a massive beating. For example, my ship the Graff Spee. Originally, there was supposed to be a fleet of 100 in service. Right now, we only produced the Graff Spee. We're in no condition to fight another war. We're trying to rebuild the fleet and maintain what little strength we have left. We're very vulnerable right now." Nechayev said.

"So you can't help us?" Roslin asked.

"The Federation won't be fighting your war. But I doubt the Cylons will want to venture into Federation territory. Even in our weakened state, we're still more powerful than they are. And the universe is crawling with hostile alien species. So I doubt the Cylons will be much of a threat for long." Nechayev said.

That was a relief for the colonials.

"We'd appreciate any help you can give us." Bill said.

"I'll give you some supplies, but no weapons or critical technology. My ship has a skeleton crew, limited supplies, and our warp drive has been severely damaged." Nechayev said.

"Warp drive?" Kara asked.

"It's our way of faster than light travel. Needless to say, it's heavily damaged. We're only able to maintain warp 2. We're originally supposed to go up to warp 9.9." Nechayev said.

"This warp system of yours. Is it possible to convert our jump drives to warp drives?" Bill asked.

"Tell me about your jump drives." Nechayev said.

"It's a mechanical drive, that folds space for a fraction of a second, and we appear from one spot to another." Lee said.

"Our warp drive uses a matter/anti-matter containment field to power the ship and propel us to warp. We're hundreds of years more ahead of you and the Cylons." Nechayev said.

"That's a no, then." Adama said.

"Afraid so. I'll give you some food and medical supplies, but no critical tech." Nechayev said.

"What about shields?" Kara asked.

"Excuse me?" Nechayev asked.

"The Cylons fired dozens of missiles at you, then even fired a nuclear warhead at your ship. I saw the missiles stopped dead in their tracks. The outside of your ship glowed yellow." Kara said.

"We do have shields, captain. But the emitters are built inside the ship itself. And we don't have any spares to give, since the shields are self-charging." Nechayev said.

"Starbuck, I want you to be her liaison officer. Admiral, one final thing we should tell you." Bill said.

"What is it?" Nechayev asked.

"Our Cylon enemies, look human." Bill said.

Nechayev looked unfazed.

"In the Dominion war, our enemies were lead by a race called the founders. They were changelings, able to take any shape they desired. Including human. We quickly figured out a way to snuff them out, and we even infected their homeworld, which helped ended the war. They withdraw back to their space and never attack again, or all the founders die. It worked." Nechayev said.

"Sounds like you encountered a similar situation to us." Roslin said.

"Exactly. But, I will need these files on the human Cylons." Nechayev said.

"We'll get them to you." Adama said.

"If you have any Cylon prisoners, I need a blood sample. My doctors and scientists can figure out a way to find them." Nechayev said.

"That makes our life easier. The skin-jobs infiltrated our core planets, crippled our defenses, and let the Cylons have a turkey shoot." Kara said.

"Doctor Cottle will give you the blood sample." Adama said.

"I'd like to get it myself. We're in an unkown part of space, facing an enemy of unknown power and size. I want me, my ship, and my crew to have some knowledge of our new enemy. Oh, and I'll need your logs." Nechayev said.

"What for?" Roslin asked.

"I need to make a map of your journey, so I can help plan what will happen next." Nechayev said.

"I'll get them to you." Adama said.

"Admiral, I'll need you speak with the quorum." Roslin said.

"Your government. Not mine." Nechayev said.

"Yes, but parking a unknown warship of immense size and power right above the fleet is going to raise questions. Hell, I'm surprised the questions aren't coming in right now." Roslin said.

"Knock on wood." Nechayev said.

"Plus, as the leader of the 13th tribe's military, your words will hold considerable sway here." Adama said.

"Fine. I'll talk. But I speak the truth. Madam president, admiral, be present at the meeting, and be prepared. I speak the cold truth." Nechayev said.

As Nechayev left Adama's quarters, everyone else talked.

"She reminds me of Admiral Cain." Roslin said.

"I think she's different." Adama said.

"What makes you say that?" Lee asked.

"It's just a gut feeling. But I think she's different. Starbuck, get as much intel on our new Admiral, and her ship." Adama said.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4

Nechayev walked to the sickbay and met Doctor Cottle.

"Admiral Nechayev. I was told you were coming down here." Cottle said.

"Yes, I am. I'll be getting a blood sample from the Cylon prisoner." Nechayev said.

"Very well. Get some gloves, and a syringe." Cottle said.

With the gloves and syringe on, she walked to the cell where Sharon was.

"Who are you?" Sharon asked, seeing Nechayev with a syringe in her hand.

"I need to get a blood sample. That's all." The Starfleet admiral said.

Sharon held out he arm, and watched as the admiral filled the syringe with her blood. She wondered what the blood would be used for.

"Hey, Admiral. So when are we heading to your ship?" Kara asked.

Nechayev tapped her comm badge.

"Graff Spee, 2 to beam up."

Nechayev and Starbuck beamed over to the Graff Spee. Starbuck's jaw just dropped at how advanced the ship was. Nothing the Colonials produced was as advanced as this. And this was one ship.

"No wonder you destroyed those Cylons so easy." Starbuck said.

"Godfrey, how's the warp core?" Nechayev asked.

"Still working on it. To tell you the truth, I don't think we'll get past warp 2. Whatever happened, did a number on the core." Godfrey said.

"Keep me posted." Nechayev said.

"You guys use networked computers?" Starbuck asked.

"You sound terrified." Nechayev said, as the two headed to sickbay.

"That was how the Cylons took down our fleet. Our ships had networked computers, and the Cylons hacked into the system. Some sort of virus." Starbuck said.

"I doubt the Cylons will be able to hack into our system. This ship is designed to repel Breen dampening weapons. So the Cylons won't be able to touch it." Nechayev said, entering the sickbay.

"Doc, here's a blood sample. I want you to tear it from the inside out. Find a way for a tricorder to detect it." Nechayev.

"Yes, sir."

"This ship is bigger than the Pegasus and Galactica put together." Starbuck said.

"She's the biggest ship Starfleet has produced so far. Very capable in the right hands." Nechayev said.

"What kind of weapons does she have?" Starbuck asked.

"That's classified. Along with many other things." Nechayev said.

"Admiral, Adama has sent his logs over." An ensign said.

"Good. Start sending supplies to the fleet. Mainly food and medicine." Nechayev said.

"Also, their president wants you to speak to the quorum and press right now. They're meeting in the Galactica."

Nechayev knew she would have to speak with them, but she didn't expect it to happen this soon.

"Tell the Admiral I'm on my way." Nechayev said.

In the large meeting room, the press was hammering Adama with questions.

"Admiral, is this ship from the 13 tribe?"

"Could it be a Cylon trap?"

"You have any idea where it came from?"

"Everyone, calm down! Admiral Nechayev will arrive shortly to answer all your questions!" Adama almost shouted, which calmed the crowd.

"Now you know what I go thru with the quorum." Roslin half-jokingly said to Adama.

"As bad as it is, martial is still worse." Adama replied.

The door opened, and Nechayev walked in, flanked by two Colonial marines.

"Before you start asking questions, let me introduce myself. I'm Admiral Nechayev, the top leader of Starfleet, the main branch of exploration and defense for the Federation." Nechayev said.

"Why are you out here?" a reporter asked.

"Good question. Short answer is, my ship's engine malfunctioned and sent us here. And here I am." Nechayev said.

"Are you from the 13th tribe?"

"Me, most of my crew, and my ship did come from earth." Nechayev said, and the room exploded with many questions and chatter.

"Will more ships come from the 13 tribe?"

"Will you take care of the Cylon threat?"

"How advanced is your ship?"

"Will you be distributing supplies to the reset of the fleet?"

"Food and medicine is being sent throughout the fleet. I'm not giving critical tech, because

frankly, our technology is beyond your use. We have advanced weapons, hell; the ship can run itself without our input." Nechayev said.

"You use AI on your ship?" a reporter asked, in horror.

"Yes. AI technology is heavily used throughout the Federation. It's something that's taken for granted." Nechayev said.

The room quieted, and the news reporters made hushed whispers towards each other. A few made glances of hatred towards Nechayev.

"Admiral, here's something you should know. We despise advanced AI. The Cylons are trying to kill us."

"I'm well aware of your fight. I rescued the Pegasus from 3 Cylon battleships. My ship and technology can be a great benefit to your fleet. We can stop any Cylon attack." Nechayev said.

"What's this Federation?" a reporter asked.

"It's a peaceful organization that comprises thousands of worlds and governments. All owe allegiance to the Federation, whose HQ is Earth. One of the main principles of the Federation is that we respect each species right to their culture. Yes, species. There are hundreds of species, many aliens, inside the Federation." Nechayev said.

"Can the Federation protect us from the Cylons?" another reporter asked.

"Yes. From what I've seen, the Cylons are hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned compared to the Federation." Nechayev said.

"How close are we to earth?"

"That's speculation. I'll need all the information on your FTL drives, regardless on clearance. But I will say this. As long as the Graff Spee is with the fleet, you're safe from the Cylons." Nechayev said.

"One final question, regarding the Federation's policy towards culture. Since it respects culture, it stand reason to suppose that the many species are free to practice their religion as they choose?"

"Yes. That's correct." Nechayev said.

"Admiral, thank the gods you're here. We're tired from running from the Cylons, constantly losing a battle of attrition. Thank the gods."

"God's got nothing to do with this. Just a malfunctioning engine. Clear the shit and smell the fresh coffee." Nechayev coldly said, and walked off the podium.

Out of the room, Nechayev met with the higher ups of the fleet.

"That's a hell of a meeting." Col. Tigh said.

"It's how I deal with rowdy press. While I'm not a fan of martial law, in a situation like this it may be practical for a group of people this size." Nechayev said.

"So what's your next plan?" Adama asked.

"I'm working on it. In the meantime, try and calm the fleet. Last thing we all need, is a repeat of the Warsaw uprising." Nechayev said, puzzling her counterparts.

"The what?" Adama asked.

"Earth has a bloody and violent past. In the year 1944, a country called Germany controlled the neighboring country of Poland. The Poles were naturally pissed, and they rose up to free their capital. For two months the Poles held the capital before being crushed by the superior German force. Reason I say Warsaw uprising, is because it was the first metaphor that came to my mind." Nechayev said.

"I'll work on getting you the FLT data you need." Adama said.

"You trust me that quickly?" Nechayev asked.

"I have no choice. You claim your ship is very powerful. I'd rather not be on the receiving end of that. So I'm taking a leap of faith." Adama said.

"Good. I'm due back on the Graff Spee. I'm still looking over your logs." Nechayev said.

"Just remember. Context matters. Did a lot of shit that we normally wouldn't have done." Adama said.

"Did a lot of shit during our war as well. Don't worry, Admiral. We're to learn from the past, and look to the future. Or so we should." Nechayev said.

…

Back on the Graff Spee, Nechayev was busy reading Adama's logs when her liaison officer came in to the sound of jazz music. A slow jazz tune was playing, one fit for a detective story. It seemed to fit.

"Admiral?" Starbuck asked.

"Film noir jazz. Section 45.

"I enjoy listening to jazz. It helps to calm me down."

Nechayev said, as she read the cursive hand writing. And Adama had one hell of a journey. From retirement to senior military commander overnight. He fought the Cylons at Ragnar, chased for 5 days without any sleep, destroyed the Olympic Carrier, and it went on and on.

"So, you belted your XO." Nechayev said, reading when Adama was dealing with the water crisis.

"Yeah… that was a different time…" Starbuck said, not wanting to get on the Admiral's bad side. She had a ship that had more firepower than both the total strengths of the Cylon and Colonial fleets put together.

"From what I can tell, he needs to be popped in the mouth every now and then." Nechayev said.

"Can't argue with that, sir." Kara said.

"This Lee Adama is an idiot for letting Zarek stay alive. And now, he's in your government, as representative of Sagitteron." Nechayev said.

"I'm not so sure why he let him live. But that's in the past." Starbuck said.

"Those who fail to listen to history, repeat it." Nechayev said.

A darker and sensual jazz was playing, but Nechayev paid no mind, still reading Adama's logs.

"Hell of a choice for reading music." Kara said.

"Why the fuck did Lt. Agathon impregnate an enemy agent?" Nechayev asked.

"He saved my ass back on Caprica. He's a friend of mine." Kara said.

"I understand that. But why did he bone a cylon?" Nechayev asked.

"You'll have to ask him. I'm guessing he didn't know she was a Cylon until after they fracked." Kara said.

"Frack?" Nechayev asked, looking at the pilot.

"It's a curse word." Kara said.

"Oh. Like me and you just fucked." Nechayev said, giving Kara the earthling's own curse word.

Kara chocked on her drink and looked at the admiral.

"Is that an invitation?" Kara asked out of the blue.

Both stared at each other.

"For my sanity, I'm going to forget you said that. And I'll delete said image out of my mind. You guys went thru hell and back." Nechayev said.

"We did. And it'll only continue." Starbuck said.

"Sit down. I'll have plenty of questions. Computer, holographic display." Nechayev said, and a display appeared in the middle of the room.

"12 colonies, Ragnar. Discovery of ice planet, recovery of Starbuck, battle on asteroids, and Kobol. Great Cylon turkey shoot. Meeting with Pegasus, and destruction of resurrection ship. Rescue of battlestar Pegasus." Nechayev said, creating a map.

"Next stop, earth." Kara said.

"Logs say that you want to return to Caprica." Nechayev said.

"Yes, sir. There are still people there. They need to be rescued." Kara said.

"Not gonna happen. Your two battlestars are needed to protect this fleet, and Graff Spee can only cruise at warp 2. It'll take months to get there." Nechayev said.

Nechayev put the log books away and rubbed her eyes in frustration. This was not something she was expecting.

"You alright?" Kara asked.

"A little frustrated, that's all. I'm wondering what the next crisis will be." Nechayev said.

"There's always a crisis." Kara glumly said.

"Lets talk about something else." Nechayev said.

"Well, before the war I had a scholarship to play pyramid ball." Kara said.

"What's that?" Nechayev asked.

After Kara explained the game, Nechayev said "Sounds like basketball, football, and baseball had a threesome, and a bastard child was the end result."

"That's one way of looking at it. I could have gone pro, but a bum knee put me out of contention. After that, joined the Colonial fleet. And I'm fighting just for the hell of it. It's funny. When we found Kobol, we needed the arrow of Apollo to open the tomb of Athena, so we could find a map to earth." Kara said.

"That's very interesting. So what happened?" Nechayev asked, grabbing two glasses and a bottle filled with a blue liquid. She filled the glasses and handed one to Kara.

"Well, I found…" Kara said, as she drank the liquid.

Kara's face imploded, and she grimly swallowed the liquid.

"What the frak is that?" She asked, coughing.

"Romulan ale. We managed to smuggle an entire crate aboard the ship." Nechayev said, a big grin on her face at Kara's discomfort.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch 5

"Smuggle?" Kara asked, as she looked at the Romulan ale.

"It's currently illegal. So what happened next?" Nechayev asked, sipping her glass.

"I got the arrow, and ran into Helo, Lt. Agathon. And his Cylon girlfriend, Sharon. She's currently in jail on the Galactica. Anyway, Sharon bolted after I tried to kill her, because I knew she was a Cylon, and Helo knew she was a Cylon. So, me and Helo drove around Delphi, one of the cities. We ran into a godsdamned motherfracking pyramid team. They were doing high altitude training when the nukes fell." Kara said.

"You're kidding, right?" Nechayev asked.

"I'm not. They took us in. Got close to their leader, Samuel T. Anders. Pity he's dead." Kara said.

"What happened?" Nechayev asked.

"We were scouting for an a Cylon airbase, hoping to steal a heavy raider. A Cylon patrol discovered us and started hosing the convoy with gunfire. I got shot, and captured. For 4 days, I was in a hospital, that was ran by the Cylons. They were trying to combine human and Cylon to make a new generation." Kara said, shuddering at the memory.

"Christ. Sperm and eggs from both sides. What were they thinking?" Nechayev asked.

"Don't want to know what they were thinking. I broke out of the hospital, after killing a few dozen POWs. Men and woman were being used as baby machines. When I was fleeing the hospital, Cylon centurions started firing at me. Sam and his resistance came and tried to help me escape. And here comes Sharon with the Cylon heavy raider we were about to capture and guns down the Cylons, allowing us to escape. And then…" Kara says.

"Something unexpected happens."

"Yep. I'm pretty sure it was a sniper, because we never saw the bastard. Sam's head is blown right off. It's crazy. One second, he's alive, helping me get onto the raider. Next second, he's dead." Kara says.

"It never does make sense. In the Dominion war, we would make advances, only to suffer intense defeats. One day, we would take out dozens of enemy ships, and the next day, we'd lose half a fleet. And the day after that, we'd be more than happy to return the favor. Just went on and on." Nechayev said.

"I'm hoping we can go back and rescue the survivors." Kara said, drinking her glass of Romulan ale, down it in one gulp. She still struggled with the strong after taste.

"Romulan ale isn't for me." Kara said, putting the glass on the table.

"Most people can't handle it." Nechayev said.

"I wonder why." Kara said, trying not to throw up.

"Bridge to Admiral Nechayev."

"Admiral, here."

"Adama wants to speak to you."

"Patch me through."

"Admiral, my son is being inducted as the Commander of the Pegasus." Adama said.

"Congratulations, Adama. But that's not why you called me." Nechayev said.

"You and Starbuck need to be there for the ceremony." Adama said.

"I understand Starbuck, but me?" Nechayev asked.

"It'll be a boost to moral to see the Graff Spee in support." Adama said.

"Understood. When is it starting?" Nechayev asked.

"In three days."

"I'll be there. Out." Nechayev said.

"I feel woozy." Kara said, as the strong alcohol hit her in force.

"Admiral to sickbay. Lock onto Capt. Thrace's bio sign and beam her to the sickbay. She drank one glass of Romulan ale, and she's gone loopy." Nechayev said, and watched as the drunk pilot was beamed out of her quarters.

"Finally, some peace and quiet." She said, turning up the jazz music and continued to read Adama's logs.

On the Galactica, Adama and Roslin met.

"The stuff Nechayev is giving to the fleet is a real help. Cottle can't make heads or tails of what he's got, so she sent one of her doctors to give him pointers." Adama said.

"It's good to see that some normality is coming back, but I'm worried about something." Roslin said.

"About what?" Adama asked.

"How the fleet will react to a warship from the 13 tribe. People are demanding that Nechayev contact earth and send a fleet of warships to protect us." Roslin said.

"It will take time for them to assemble a fleet and if they do it quickly, good luck finding us. We're moving all the time. So I doubt we'll see a fleet of battleships from the 13 tribe." Adama said.

3 days later, and Lee Adama was being sworn in as the commander of the Pegasus. Admiral Neachev was there, wearing full dress uniform.

"I swear, you're like a kid on his first day at school." Kara whispered to Lee.

"You're going to make me regret having you along, aren't you?" Lee whispered back.

"Every day." Kara responded.

"… I now present to you, the newest commander of the battlestar Pegasus." Roslin said, stepping aside and letting Lee stand on the podium, in front of the many personal of the Pegasus crew.

"9 months ago, the world changed. Our lives changed forever. We found ourselves holding responsibilities that we never thought we'd be holding. Duty, honor, respect, loyalty. Those are more than words. Those are the guidelines of those who serve in the colonial fleet. And recently, all have been in shortage aboard this ship. Well that's going to change. Starting today. I've already appointed Kara Thrace as my acting CAG, and I'll be going thru crew roosters and…"

Kendraw Shaw turned the radio off in contempt.

"More things change, the more they stay the same." She said.

"Yeah, ain't that the truth." A fellow cook said.

"Oh, Admiral. I was hoping we can talk." Roslin said.

"Sure thing." Nechayev said.

"In private." Roslin said.

Raising an eyebrow, Nechayev followed Roslin to an empty room.

"What's on your mind?" Nechayev asked.

"The Federation. How long until you can have a fleet here to meet us?" Roslin asked.

"President, we're still trying to figure out what section of space we're in. The Federation has never been here before. My guess is that we're in what Starfleet calls the Charlie quadrant." Nechayev said.

"But you could contact earth, have a fleet meet us?" Roslin asked.

"No. It'll take time to assemble a fleet, and even longer get here. Besides, Starfleet is stretched thin right now. So we can't afford to send ships into the Charlie quadrant and look for 50-odd ships. If we're in the Charlie quadrant." Nechayev said.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch 6

"Interesting." Nechayev said, as she read part of Adama's logs, at the part where Sharon helped turn the table against a large Cylon strike force.

"If only I had access to Cylon tech. I need to capture a baseship intact, or a few fighters." Nechayev said, putting the log away.

Nechayev contacted the Galactica, and received an urgent message.

"Get to the Pegasus right now. Something important has come up." Adama said, and hung the phone.

Perplexed, she beamed over to the Pegasus and was directed to the hanger deck. She found Roslin, Bill, Lee, Tigh, Sharon, Baltar, an unknown woman wearing an XO's uniform, and a few marines standing guard.

"Long time I'd seen one of these outside a museum." Tigh said.

Adama touched one of the dead cylons and looked at the dry oil in his hands, remembering something.

"Why would the Cylons resurrect a machine that's hopelessly obsolete?" Roslin asked.

"Maybe they didn't resurrect it." Sharon said.

"Have something you want to tell us?" Roslin curtly asked.

"There's references in our database of a force of centurions, early models like these who escaped being scrapped. They were called guardians." Sharon said.

"What did these guardian's guard?" Shaw asked, her voice above a whisper, but had a cold edge.

"A hybrid. The first hybrid created in an attempt to go from that, to us." Sharon said.

"A Cylon missing link?" Lee asked.

"More like evolutionary dead end. More hybrids were created to control our baseships, and the project was quickly abandoned. And some thing the hybrid is still alive, protected by these guardians. Still trying to evolve." Sharon said.

Adama then remembered something important.

"The last operation of the war. Galactica, was part of a task force that destroyed a Cylon base. I was on that mission. It was rumored, that the Cylons were building a superweapon. 3 battlestars plus support ships. I was in a viper, helping various squadrons fend off cylon raiders. Columbia was destroyed after taking multiple hits. I saw two raiders flee to the planet, and I pursued. I shot down both raiders, but was shot down as well. I parachuted to the plane's surface, into a large building. I saw what was going on in there. The Cylons had captured a convoy, and taken the colonial's prisoner. They began to experiment on it them. Cutting body parts off in a systematic order. If they wanted to study a specific part, such as an arm, brain, you name it, they took it from a live person. And there were still POW's trapped, having been spared. I had to leave, and watched the baseship leave the planet, and got word of the armistice. They escaped with it, right before they signed the armistice." Adama said.

Nechayev covered her mouth in shock. The Dominion and Borg were bad enough, but this was probably worse.

"And if this hybrid has captured some of our people…" Roslin said.

"I don't want to know." Adama said.

"How old is this ship?" Nechayev asked.

"40 years old." Tigh said.

"We can use your help, Admiral." Bill said.

"You said 'captured some of our people.' What happened?" Nechayev asked.

"I let some scientists take two raptors to scout a supernova. Looks like they were captured." Bill said.

"They're already dead. If it was up to me, I'd warp in there, blow the Cylon ship to pieces, and warp out. I'm not throwing my crew to be turned into slabs of steak." Nechayev said.

"You can beam them back onto your ship." Kara said.

"Beam?" Tigh asked.

"I looked over her ship a bit. Found out some things." Kara said.

"Your people are already dead." Nechayev said.

"I still want them back. And I'll need your ship to help." Bill said.

Inside Bill's quarters, they discussed the plan.

"Tyrol and Balter were able to pull intel from the raider's computer, and find the location of a base, though it's more of a base ship. We'll find our people there." Bill said.

"So we'll be taking my ship." Nechayev said.

"I'm temporarily transferring my flag to the Graff Spee." Bill said.

"You're coming along?" Nechayev asked.

"You'll still be in charge. I have a personal stake in this mission." Bill said.

"Admiral, since I'm in charge, I still want to pull the trigger the second I warp in." Nechayev said.

"Destroying that base ship with people onboard, is the last resort. I'm getting my people back, no matter the cost." Adama said.

Both admiral's glared at each other.

"Okay. I'll try to bring them back, but no promises. Since we'll be sending in a team onboard, the second we run into fierce trouble, or it looks like they'll be captured and sent to the slaughter house, they get beamed out, and bye-bye base ship." Nechayev said.

"Deal." Bill said.

"Good. Lets start up the plan." Nechayev said.

In Galactica's war room, the two made the plan.

"Remember. If we jump to weapons range, they'll either jump away, or self-destruct the ship. And we can't trace a ship thru a jump. It's impossible." Bill said.

"And even if I could disable the self-destruct, that ship is armed with missiles. They can use that to destroy themselves." Nechayev said, picking up the model of the Galactica, acting impromptu as her own ship.

"In the American revolution, general Gates lead a campaign against his British enemies. He lost all of his battles, but he was retreating up north, and drew the British redcoats away from their main base, stretching their supply line, leaving it vulnerable for counter attacks. We'll bring the Graff Spee just inside their detection range. We let them think they take out our warp drive, and we move away, drawing the raiders away. Raptor jumps in to secure the POWs." Nechayev said.

"Who's piloting the raptor?" Bill asked.

"Starbuck. You say she's the best pilot in the fleet. Now's a chance to prove it." Nechayev said.

"Good. Will you be sending in your soldiers?" Bill asked.

"No. My ship is staffed by a skeleton crew, so I'll need everyone to keep her running, let alone repel boarding parties. But I'm going on that base ship." Nechayev said.

"Admiral, that's a dangerous plan." Bill said.

"I need intel on the Cylon's capabilities in combat. Now, these Cylons are obsolete, but it'll give me an idea of what me and my crew are up against." Nechayev said.

"Any weapons?" Adama asked.

"No. If one phaser falls into Cylon hands, we could be in some serious trouble." Nechayev said.

"So how do we destroy the baseship?" Adama asked.

"First, we'll have to get the crew off the ship. Dropping the shields to beam them out is risky, but as long as the Cylons don't fire nukes, we'll be fine. Once they're back on board, we blow the baseship with our phasers. And just to be sure, the strike team will leave a tracking device so we can follow the baseship if they escape." Nechayev said.

"Good hunting, Admiral." Bill said.

Neyachev was in the holodeck, practicing her martial arts and hand to hand skills.

"We're one hour from being finished." Kara said, walking into the holodeck, surprised to see the inside of an old gym, where Nechayev was practicing some jujitsu.

"Good. I can use a sparring partner." Nechayev said.

Taking her jacket off, Kara faced Nechayev, who also discarded her Starfleet issued uniform. Kara quickly ducked as Nechayev threw a punch at her. Kara grabbed the extended arm and threw Nechayev on the ground.

Nechayev knocked Kara's legs out from under her and moved quick to straddle her.

Kara grabbed Nechayev and threw her off. Both stood up to face each other again. Kara moved forward and punch Nechayev who blocked it, grabbed her arm and tossed her aside.

Kara swung a kick at Nechayev who grabbed the leg and pushed the now unstable Kara unto her back and followed, forcing her leg to stretch all the way to her head.

"Impressive." Nechayev said, letting go of the leg.

"You missed something." Kara said, locking her free leg around Nechayev and rolled the two, so she was on top. Kara pinned Nechayev's arms above her head and straddled her so she couldn't use her legs.

"I'm on top now." Kara said.

"For now. We got a mission to complete." Nechayev said.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch 7

The Graff Spee warped towards the location of the Cylon base ship, and watched as the raiders were launched.

"They're launching raiders." Price said.

"Putting it onscreen."

The view screen showed a 3-d view of the ongoing battle. The Cylon raiders attacked the Graff Spee, firing their missiles and machine guns. The shields glowed yellow as the projectiles struck.

"Incoming ordnance."

The base ship began to fire its missiles. A few were taken out, but most got through and impacted against the shields. The fight continued for 10 minutes, as raiders began to crash into the ship.

"That's enough. We're taking the warp drive offline."

"Head away from the baseship. Lets draw away the fighters and missiles." The XO said.

A colonial raptor jumped away from the fight, and watched as both sides slugged it out.

"Looks like they bought it. Lets go get our raptor crews." Kara said.

"Maybe this will be easier than we thought." Kendraw said.

The dradis warned them of two raiders approaching them.

"Guess again. Two raiders on an intercept course!" Kara said, as the Cylon raiders close in, firing their guns.

Just as the raiders were spotted, they were quickly destroyed from phaser fire, curtesy of the Graff Spee.

"You got one hell of a ship, Admiral." Kara said.

"Thanks. Get us to the ship." Nechayev said.

Docking onto the ship, they left the raptor and entered the halls of the Cylon baseship.

"Graff Spee, this is Shaw. We're onboard. No contact, no casualties."

"DeSilva, you got anything?"

"Nothing. Wait, I'm reading heat signatures. Very faint, probably near the core."

"Lets go." Nechayev said.

"Stay frosty kiddies. No telling how many of those old toasters they left guarding house." Hudson said.

"Shut your yap, Hudson, and we won't have to find out." Starbuck hissed.

The motley crew quickly went thru the halls and approached the door that led them to their crew. Nechayev opened the door… and was shocked at what she saw. It was just what Bill Adama said. Already, one of the prisoners was vivisected, her body parts held in different containers. Like the machines they were, the Cylons were cold and methodical in their methods. Nechayev vomited at the sight.

"Get them out of there! Go, go, go!" Starbuck shouted.

Nechayev approached one of the prisoners. He looked at the Starfleet admiral and opened his mouth, but couldn't speak because of his raw throat.

"We're getting you home." Nechayev said, as she opened the chains and helped the man get on his feet.

"Cylons!" DeSilva shouted, firing his machinegun.

A centurion came in, and started to fire its machinegun at the colonists.

One of the marines was hit, shattering his leg bone.

"Get out!" Starbuck shouted, providing cover fire.

Everyone ran out of the hell room and down the corridor they came from. Two Cylon centurions hosed the area with gunfire. Nechayev held her rifle around a corridor and fired phaser blasts at the Cylons.

"They got DeSilva!"

On the Graff Spee, Adama closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of weapons fire.

Shaw watched as two Centurions walked forward, keeping the group under cover with heavy weapons fire. With only a few seconds, she aimed her rifle and pulled the trigger. The bullet struck DeSilva thru the forhead, killing him.

The Cylons returned the favor, by shooting Shaw in the gut.

"Damn it! Graff Spee, this is Nechayev! We're under heavy fire. Pegasus XO is hit, badly wounded. Two already dead. Can you beam us out?"

"We can't. They're now firing nukes at us. We drop the shields, we're dead." Price said.

"Admiral, sitrep!" Shaw shouted.

"Cylons are now jamming us, and they're hammering the Graff Spee with nukes. We're on our own here." Nechayev said.

"You mind telling me what that was about with DeSilva?" Kara angrily asked.

"You saw what they were doing in there." Shaw said.

"Yeah, I saw. Hell, I was in a similar situation. Just after the war started, we were fleeing with the fleet and lost the Olympic carrier. She returns, and is loaded with Cylon nukes. I had to shoot it down, even though there was over 1,000 people on board." Kara said.

"I understand what you're saying, captain." Shaw said.

"I was there. I pulled the trigger." Kara said, as she fired at the Cylons.

"Get down!" a marine shouts, as the Cylons advance forward, forcing the group to retreat further towards the airlock.

"We're fucked, now!" Nechayev said, firing her rifle at the Cylons. Hearing a clanking noise, she saw two more centurions join.

"Shit."

On the Graff Spee, Adama looked over the Price and his station.

"What are you doing?" Adama asked.

"Loading photon torpedoes." Price said.

"Destroying that ship with people onboard is the last option." Adama said.

"Like it or not admiral, this is no longer a rescue op. Our options are limited. We drop the shields to beam them out, we get pummeled by nukes. And god knows what will happen to our people once they get captured." Price said.

"I know what will happen. I was there where they made that thing." Adama growled.

"Then you know the costs." Price said.

"I know. But there must be some way to get them back. Can we send a shuttle?" Adama asked.

"With all these fighters and missiles attacking us? There's a window, but it's a small one." Price said.

"Admiral, we're getting a message from Nechayev."

"Put it through." Bill said.

"Graff Spee, this is Nechayev. We're holding tight. Tell me you can get us out."

"We're sending a shuttle towards you. Hold tight." Bill said.

"Good. Take out the ships FTL system. Once they see that shuttle, they'll know what's going on and probably jump away." Nechayev said.

"Hold onto something. It's going to be rough." Price said.

The Cylon baseship violently shook as the phaser cut thru the hull armor and destroyed the FTL drive. The lights flickered on and off, then stayed on.

"Alright. FTL is blown. We just have to hold until the shuttle arrives. Graff Spee. What's the ETA on the damned shuttle?" Nechayev asked.

"Approaching now. Get to an airlock and fast. Cylon fighters are heading back to the baseship." Price said.

"You heard him. We need to move, now!" Nechayev said, slinging her rifle and picking up Shaw.

"Toasters are bugging out!" A marine said, as he shot a Cylon dead with his rifle.

"Move, now!" Starbuck said.

Inside the airlock, they climbed into the shuttle and had to brace themselves as the shuttle rocketed away at a high speed.

"Incoming!" the pilot shouted, as the incoming raiders peppered the shuttle with gunfire, yet the bullets failed to penetrate the shields.

"The shuttle is shielded?" Shaw asked.

"If that baseship starts firing nukes at us, we're dead." The pilot said.

"Holy shit!" one of the marines shouts, as the Graff Spee zooms past the shuttle, firing photon torpedoes at the baseship, leaving it to burn and explode.

"Mission accomplished, admiral." Kara said.

Walking onto the bridge, Adama stood up and saluted Nechayev, who returned the salute.

"We got them back." Adama said.

"That we did. Helm, take us to the fleet." Nechayev said, as she sat in her chair.

Back with the fleet, Nechayev walked into her quarters and removed her uniform.

"Coffee, hot." She said.

The replicator showed a steaming up of the dark brown liquid. Taking the cup in her hand, she drank it and sat on her bed.

"God, that was intense." Nechayev muttered, as the fight went thru her mind. Bullets and plasma were soaring between both sides. People getting shot, screaming.

"Those Cylons are cruel fuckers." She said, finishing her drink.

The door opened, and Kara walked in.

"Admiral, Adama ordered me to stay on the Graff Spee as a full liaison between both forces and…" Kara said, seeing Nechayev sitting on her bed, a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Admiral?" Kara asked.

"Oh. Didn't hear you." Nechayev said.

"That fight on the baseship?" Kara asked.

"Yeah. That was the first firefight I've been involved in." Nechayev said.

"I thought you and the Federation finished a major war." Kara said.

"We did, and I did see fighting in that war, but I was always on the bridge of a ship, fighting Dominion warships. I never set foot on the ground and fought the enemy face to face." Nechayev said.

"It is something else entirely. Very different than flying a viper. In a viper, or warship in your case, you can move in 3 directions. On the ground, your options are very fracking limited." Kara said.

"Well, we're still alive. By the way, we'll have to work on your disciplinary problem. Adama says you're a reckless person." Nechayev said, laying back on the bed, her hands clasped under her head.

"Yeah. Good luck with that." Kara said, heading to the replicator.

"Just say what you want, and it'll replicate whatever it is. Food, water, anything edible and drinkable." Nechayev said.

"Alcohol." Kara said, and a cup appeared.

"You drink while on duty?" Nechayev asked.

"Sometimes." Kara said, drinking the burning liquid.

Nechayev waited until Kara finished drinking, then threw a fist in her gut. Kara dropped to her knees, gagging on the alcohol.

"You're a fighter pilot. You rely on reflexes to survive. This drinking will get you killed. If not by the Cylons, then by your ruined liver and kidneys." Nechayev said, pinning Kara to the floor.

Suddenly, the red alert started to sound.

"All hands to battlestations! Massive Cylon fleet inbound!"

"To the bridge, now." Nechayev said, as the ship took incoming missile fire.

"Report!" Nechayev said, as she walked onto the bridge.

"10 Cylon baseships are hammering the fleet. We're taking the brunt of the attack, while the fleet jumps away." Price said.

"Shoot down enemy missiles heading towards the fleet. We can handle the hits. They can't." Nechayev said.

Like a blanket of hot flames, Graff Spee's phasers joined Galactica and Pegasus's flak fields in shielding the fleet from the incoming Cylon missiles. The Cylons then focused their attention on the Federation's newest vessel, firing scores of missiles.

"Fleet's jumped away!"

"Get us out of here!"

Entering warp 1, the Graff Spee fled the killing field.

"Warp complete. No contacts." LuFan said

"No contacts? Where's the fleet?" Kara asked.

"They're gone, Admiral." LuFan said.


	8. Chapter 8

Ch 8

"Maintain red alert, minimize output. God help us." Nechayev muttered the last part and headed to sickbay.

"Doc, how is she?" she asked.

"Bullet tore her stomach a bit, but she'll live." Doc Briggs said.

"Get your sickbay ready. Prepare for heavy casualties." Nechayev said.

"Admiral?" Briggs asked.

"You heard me."

Entering the astrometric lab, Nechayev scanned the surrounding space for the Colonial fleet. Finding nothing, she headed to her quarters.

"Christ. How the hell am I going to find the fleet? Did Adama ever have a situation like this?" Nechayev wondered.

With the idea in her mind, she opened the logs and flipped thru them, looking for anything that could help her.

"Any luck, Admiral?" Kara asked.

"I've got something. After Adama was shot, Galactica jumped away with the fleet when a Cylon baseship attacked. And the Galactica was completely separated from the rest of the fleet. Says here, that they linked theFTL computer with the fire control, nave computer, and DC computers to quickly calculate the position of the fleet." Nechayev said.

"I wasn't around, but since the fleet is alive, it must have worked." Kara said.

"Our computers are networked, so we can warp back and do the same trick." Nechayev said.

"You think you can outthink the Cylons at computer software?" Kara asked.

"Yes. All we need, is a strong firewall to keep the Cylons at bay." Nechayev said.

…

"You want to do what?" Price asked.

"We warp back to the original position, and calculate the position of the fleet, based on star drifts. Once we have a fix, we head to the fleet." Nechayev said.

"Hanging around for that amount of time is inviting the Cylons to infect your computers. They're experts at deception." Kara said.

"I agree. We don't know much about the Cylons, and we're the only Federation ship out here." Price said.

"The Cylons attacked with 10 baseships last time. They know about us, and think we're with the fleet. Once they attack again, they'll bring 50 baseships, for example. If we don't do this, we'll never find the fleet again." Nechayev said.

"You're the admiral." Kara said, rolling her eyes.

"One hour to prepare. Break out the arms lockers, seal the bulkheads. Divert all non-essential power to defense systems. They'll start firing nukes like it's going out of style." Nechayev said.

 _Admiral's log_

 _We're getting ready to head back to the original point and start our plan. Kara warns me that the Cylons are experts at infiltrating computer software. They never encountered a Starfleet software, and here's hoping they can't break thru. But just to be safe, everyone is armed to repel boarders. I've seen what the Cylons are capable of doing. And I'll self-destruct the Graff Spee to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. God, I hope we can pull this off._

"Admiral, we're ready." An ensign said.

Entering the bridge, she looked at the bridge crew dead in the eyes.

"Here's the plan. We warp in, hold off the Cylons, crunch the numbers, and warp back to the fleet. Simple." She said, sitting in her chair.

"Not so simple to do." She muttered.

"All stations report ready." The XO said.

"Warp in 3, 2, 1." Nechayev said.

The ship exited warp at the original position, and the Cylons responded.

"Contact. 7 Cylon baseships. Multiple raiders heading right towards us!" Price exclaimed.

"All phaser banks, start shooting. Initiate flak field." Nechayev said.

The Graff Spee erupted in a hail of phaser and pulse laser fire, picking off Cylon raiders and missiles at will.

"History repeats." Nechayev said.

"Admiral?" Kara asked, sitting next to her.

"In 1943, an American battleship, the USS North Carolina, provided AA fire for the aircraft carrier, Enterprise. The sheer volume of anti-air fire was so high, that officers from the Enterprise had to ask the North Carolina if they were on fire." Nechayev said.

"Damn. And here we are." Kara said, looking at the view screen, as it showed the Graff Spee's phasers in action. It was very similar to what Nechayev just described.

"In space, no-one can hear you scream." Kara said.

"Cylons are attempting to access our mainframe!" Price said.

"How until the calculations are done?" Nechayev asked.

"7 minutes." Price said.

"Radiological alarm!"

"Brace for impact!"

The nuke hit the shields and detonated, unintentionally killing dozens of Cylon raiders.

"They're firing everything at us! Most of them nukes!" Price warned.

"How's that firewall?" Nechayev asked.

"They can't even get past the first wall." Price said.

"Have phasers intercept the nukes. Ignore everything else."

5 nuclear missiles hit the left nacelle and the shields began to drop.

"Shields dropped 5%. We're still doing good."

"Contact! More Cylons jumped in. I'm counting 15 capital ships plus supporting vessels. And they're firing nukes at us."

"Well, fuck!" Nechayev said.

"How's that search going?" Kara asked.

The bridge shook as the nuclear missiles began to pack onto the shields, slowly wearing them down.

"4 minutes. Two Cylon ships on an intercept course! Increasing speed, they're going to ram us!" Price yelled.

"Admiral, mind if I make a request?" Kara asked.

"What is it?" Nechayev asked.

"Would you pray with me?" Kara asked.

One of the baseships collided with the Graff Spee and blew up. The massive explosion and large debris took a toll on the shields of the Federation battleship.

"Lords of Kobol, hear my prayer. Help your sons and daughters from the 13th tribe find the remnants of the 12. Help us to put away our enemies…"

"2nd baseship collided! Shields down to 40%!"

"Weapons?" Nechayev asked, as Kara continued to pray, holding her hands.

"Still going loud. But lost bilge weapons." Price said.

"Calculations?" Nechayev asked, as more nuclear missiles impacted the Graff Spee.

"Got them! We got a location!" Price said.

"All hands, all hands! Get ready for warp speed!" Nechayev said over the PA system.

The Graff Spee warped away, leaving a trail of dead and ruined Cylon ships.

Exiting warp, they resumed red alert, waiting for another Cylon attack.

"Take your time." Nechayev said.

"Contacts across the board. Colonial signatures. We found them!" Price shouted.

The bridge crew erupted in cheers of elation and success.

"You did it, admiral! You did it!" Kara said, and embraced Nechayev in a bear hug, catching her off guard.

"Sorry. It's just uh…" Kara said, blushing.

Nechayev pulled Kara back into the hug.

"We did it. And we hit the Cylons in the gonads real hard." Nechayev said.

"I like the sound of that." Kara said.

"Admiral, we're getting a message from the Galactica."

"Put it through."

"Galctica actual to Graff Spee. What the hell happened?" Adama asked.

"Long story, Admiral. Long story." Nechayev said.


	9. Chapter 9

Ch 9

"So how bad is it?" Nechayev asked.

"Warp drive is out of the question. How the hell we managed to warp out of there, is beyond me." Godfrey said.

"Alright. I'll see if the fleet has a spare FTL drive they can spare." Nechayev said.

"We do have some drives we can spare. Got a hold of two Cylon raiders, with fully intact jump drives. Hell, the raider's jump drive is far superior to anything we have in the fleet right now. It can go from Kobol to Caprica in one jump." Adama said.

"Good. I'll have my engineers start working on the conversion process." Nechayev said.

"Okay. There's one other matter I'd like to talk about." Adama said.

"What is it?" Nechayev asked.

"You know we have a Cylon prisoner aboard our ship, right?" Adama asked.

"Yes. I know. And I know she's pregnant." Nechayev said.

"Roslin wants to terminate the child. It's a human-Cylon hybrid. She thinks it poses a threat to the fleet." Adama said.

Nechayev scoffed in disbelief.

"I think your president is a few plasma coils short of a full warp drive. She wants to kill a baby, because she thinks it's a threat to the fleet? The Cylons don't possess transporter technology, and I doubt any agents in the fleet will get far. By the way, we've scanned the fleet and figured out the location of a few Cylon agents in the fleet, sans your prisoner." Nechayev said.

"You have them right now?" Adama asked.

"We've have transporter lock on them right now. Just say the word…" Nechayev said.

"Kill them." Adama said.

Nechayev pressed her comm badge and spoke.

"Graff Spee, you have the Cylon agents on transporter lock?" Nechayev asked.

"Sure do."

"Good. Beam them into space. They won't last long." Nechayev said.

Across the fleet, 3 Cylons disappeared from view and reappeared into the coldness of space, dying seconds later.

"Admiral, we're also reading a nuclear warhead inside one of the ships. It's not the Galactica or Pegasus." Price said.

"Beam it into our cargo hold and seal it off. Have engineering teams check it for bugs and booby-traps." Nechayev said.

"So, you mind telling me how a nuclear warhead ends up in the middle of the fleet?" Nechayev asked.

"You got me. But I'm guessing a Cylon agent smuggled it. Gods know how it was done." Adama said.

"Right. So about this baby." Nechayev said.

"I need your input, as an outsider." Adama said.

"Don't kill it. It's just a baby, not a cybernetic killing machine." Nechayev said.

"There are plenty in the fleet who would disagree with you." Adama said.

"I understand your fears, but back on earth, we have history of people who were so paranoid and fearful, they committed countless atrocities because of it. Stalin killing millions in his quest for the perfect utopia of communism. The middle east was destroyed by nuclear fire because many were afraid of extremism. The list goes on and on. It's time to break the cycle. If you're concerned about the safety of the fleet, put the baby on the Graff Spee. We'll keep it safe." Nechayev said.

"There's one other problem. The child's parents, Helo and Sharon. I wonder how they will react to it." Adama said.

"Tell them the truth. If they want, they can transfer to the Graff Spee. We got plenty of room." Nechayev said.

"Are you willing to take that risk?" Adama asked.

"Yes. Besides, if you thought she was a major threat, why didn't you kill her when you had the chance?" Nechayev asked.

Adama didn't respond.

"Okay, I can go with your idea. I wonder how the president will react to this." Adama finally said.

"You deal with the family, I'll deal with the president." Nechayev said.

…

Sighing heavily, Adama walked into the sickbay, where he saw Helo and Sharon looking at their new-born child in the incubator.

"Doc, I need to talk to them alone." Adama said.

Alone, Adama closed the blinds.

"There's no easy way to say it, so I'll say it. I'm transferring you three to the Graff Spee." Adama said.

"Admiral?" Helo asked.

"President believes that your daughter poses some kind of threat to the fleet, considering what she is." Adama said, when Helo angrily stood up.

"Admiral…" Helo growled.

"Stand down, Helo. Graff Spee is the toughest ship in the fleet right now. You'll be safe there, away from any prying eyes. Nechayev gave me her word." Adama said.

"Thank you, sir." Helo said.

"Pack your stuff right now. President doesn't know about this plan. She has her own agenda. Nechayev is talking to her now. I hope she can calm her down." Adama said.

"What?!" Roslin shouted.

"It was my idea. They'll safe on my ship. Nothing the Cylons have can break it. And Sharon's the only Cylon agent left in the fleet right now. She won't be able to do any damage." Nechayev said.

"Admiral, the Cylons are experts in manipulation. Sharon has an opportunity to do untold damage…" Roslin started.

"Are you a parent, President?" Nechayev asked.

"Never had kids. Why?" Roslin asked.

"As an Admiral, I am weary of Sharon and her child. They'll be under guard on my ship at all times. As a mother, I can say this. Sharon loves her child. That's not something she can fake. She turned on her own to save her own kid. As long as her child is next to her, you have nothing to fear from her." Nechayev said.

"I'm president of the fleet." Roslin said.

"More like fascist leader of the fleet. You're so damned paranoid and narrow minded, it's a miracle you guys are still alive. Hell, maybe Adama should declare martial law and led the fleet himself. He seems very qualified to do so." Nechayev said.

"He won't declare martial law." Roslin said.

"Then you'll have to get your head out of your ass if this fleet is to survive." Nechayev said.

"I can't persuade you to give them back?" Roslin asked.

"No. And here's something you need to know. I have a higher rank than you, President. Once we hit Federation space, you'll be in charge of your people on a planet of your own choosing, but you'll be part of the Federation, and I'm the lead Admiral. So get used to it." Nechayev said.


	10. Chapter 10

Ch 10

"So how's that Cylon drive going?" Nechayev asked.

"We've managed to fix it to the ship, and the simulations say it'll work, but that's just a theory. We won't know until we test it for sure." Godfrey said.

"Okay. We'll start the tests soon. In the meantime, I have to talk to Adama and Starbuck. Something about a rescue plan." Nechayev said.

Walking inside the war-room, she looked at Adama and Starbuck as they talked about the plan.

"So what have you come up with?" Nechayev asked.

"The resistance base camp is located here. We can jump in, beam them out, and jump out before the Cylons are aware." Kara said.

"It'll have to be an intra-atmosphere jump. That sonic boom, plus sheer size of the ship will catch attention. How many resistance fighters are in the group?" Nechayev asked.

"Last time I was there, there was 100." Kara said.

"Now it'll be less from attrition." Adama said.

"The Cylon FTL can take us to Caprica within 10 jumps. We do have to worry about jumping over the red line, but since this is a Federation warship, that's a low possibility." Kara said.

"While we're gone, what about the fleet?" Nechayev asked.

"We'll stay here. We have a presidential election right now, Roslin vs Baltar." Adama said.

"Baltar?" Nechayev asked, hearing about the scientist, and his questionable mental state.

"He's an odd case, and Roslin thinks he's working with the Cylons. There's no proof, so I find that hard to believe." Adama said.

"You should keep an eye on him. I've heard of his questionable mental state, that he talks to a person who isn't seen, and is seen doing strange acts in public." Nechayev said.

"It's all true." Adama said.

"I'll be enjoying every second on the rescue op." Nechayev said.

"I wish I could go with you, but the fleet needs me." Adama said.

"Good luck with that." Nechayev said.

"We'll need it." Adama said.

…

 _Graff Spee war-room_

The senior staff was brought in, where Starbuck was giving them a briefing.

"None of us should be under any illusions about what we're going to face here. Our final jump will take us intra-atmosphere less than two klicks above the surface. We're also expecting to take heavy fire. I've been told this ship isn't maneuverable in atmosphere, so that will hamper our movements. Heavy casualties can be expected. That's why this mission has been designated as 2-Alpha by the command authority. It's volunteer only." Starbuck said.

"If there's not enough volunteers to crew the Graff Spee, we'll take all the raptors and shuttles to Caprica. Right now's the time to speak or hold it forever." Nechayev said.

"Admiral, I speak for everyone when I say that we're all onboard." The XO replied.

"One last thing. Since the Cylon FTL isn't fully synced with our ship, we'll be needing some help." Nechayev said

"Bring her in." Kara said.

The door opened, and Sharon walked in, with 4 security officers, armed with rifles.

"She's here to help us. She'll plug into the Cylon FTL, and lay out the course for us to follow. Got it?" Kara asked.

The Starfleet crew settled down after Kara told them the news.

"Sharon, you okay?" Helo asked, as the two headed to the engine room.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sharon said, staring into space.

"Then why are you staring like that?" Helo asked.

"I just have a feeling. Like something dark is coming." Sharon said.

"On the mission?" Helo asked.

"No. Elsewhere." Sharon said.

With the Cylon FTL now working, the Graff Spee left formation and headed towards Caprica.

"Starbuck, I'd like to speak to Galactica actual." Kara said.

"Actual." Adama said.

"Have I ever said thank you?" Kara asked.

"No. But that would be a first." Adama mused.

Kara only chuckled in response.

"Just come back in one piece. That'll be thanks enough." Adama said.

"All hands, all hands, get ready to jump!" Nechayev said over the comms.

The Graff Spee jumped away from the fleet, and ended up in an unknown location.

"Report!" Nechayev said.

"We're in an unknown location. Far away from where we're supposed to be."

"Ah shit. Can we get back on track?" Nechayev asked.

"We can, but it'll take a few minutes "

"Do it." Nechayev said.

"Captain, I'm picking up a planet just ahead of us."

"On screen." Nechayev said.

It was a blue planet, with habitability only in the equator.

"Flag it for Starfleet. They can check this out later." Nechayev said.

However, one of the bridge officers accidently sent it to the Colonial fleet.

"Jump drive?" Nechayev asked.

"Operational. It'll take a few minutes to get to the original co-ordinates, but we'll be on track."

Jumping away from the planet, they continued on their journey to Caprica.

Back in the fleet, news quickly spread of the new planet, now dubbed 'New Caprica.'

"This is what we need. Something that will put Roslin on the wrong side of an issue." Tom Zerak said.

"Are you full of it? That planet is barely habitable." Gaius Baltar said, as he looked at the reports from the Graff Spee.

"It's fresh air, solid ground, fresh food, a new hope for the people." Zerak said.

"Have you not been paying attention to the real world? The Graff Spee is from earth, which is the HQ for a powerful federation. There is no need to park there." Baltar said.

"And the Graff Spee can call the Federation to send ships to help us. We're on the brink of an historical moment. The 13 tribes of man, united against any and all threats, starting at New Caprica." Zerak said.

"Well, that planet does seem a bit lovely after all." Baltar said, after some prodding from head-six.

"All hands, all hands. Our final jump will put us in the atmosphere of Caprica. We jump in, get the resistance fighters, jump out. Brace for turbulence." Nechayev said.

"This will be fun." Kara sarcastically said.

"You'll take that back, after we come under heavy fire from the Cylons. I'm betting their baseships can operate in the atmo." Nechayev said.

"What makes you say that?" Kara asked.

"Just expecting the worst." Nechayev said.

The Graff Spee jumped into the atmosphere of Caprica, and the sonic boom got the Cylon's attention.

"Contact! Cylon raiders inbound!"

Over 100 Cylon raiders attacked the Graff Spee, now resorting to suicide runs.

"Suicide runs?" Kara asked.

"It worked in the Dominion war." Nechayev said.

Kara's eyes went wide open, as reality set in.

The ship violently shook as a raider jumped inside the ship and detonated inside, causing heavy damage.

"What the hell hit us!?" Nechayev asked.

"That raider jumped inside the ship! With enough raiders, they can destroy us!" Price said.

"Barrel roll the ship!" Nechayev ordered.

On the ground, the resistance fighters looked up and saw an intense dogfight between Cylon raiders, and a large unknown ship.

"Colonial?"

"I don't think so."

"Report!" Nechayev said.

"We're taking damage all across the ship. There's no way our shields can stop an FTL jump." Price said.

"Where are the resistance fighters?" Nechayev asked.

"We're right over them."

"Beam them up, and jump us out." Nechayev said, as the bridge shook from another raider jumping inside the ship.

"We got them. But there's a Cylon with the group"

"Kill the Cylon in the transporter buffer. Once the group's on-board, we get the hell out."

"We got them on-board."

"Sharon, jump the ship out of here."

Engineering was a mess from the Cylon strikes. Over half the crew was dead from the strikes. Debris from Cylon fighters littered the place.

"Sharon, get us out of here."

Helo grabbed an unconscious Sharon and laid her on a table.

"Sharon's knocked out. And half the crew are dead." Helo said on the PA system.

"Well whoever's still alive, needs to get that FTL working, or we're all dead." Nechayev replied.

The Graff Spee broke atmosphere and entered the Cylon blockade, firing torpedoes at the Cylon base-ships.

"FTL is online!" Sharon said, heavily breathing.

"Jump!" Nechayev shouted.


End file.
